Shloka 37
मैत्रेयागमनम् — The Arrival of Maitreya and the Admonition to Duryodhana
एनं हि विपुलप्राणमद्य हत्वा वृकोदरम् । सम्भक्ष्य जरयिष्यामि यथागस्त्यो महासुरम्,'जैसे महर्षि अगस्त्यने वातापि नामक महान् राक्षसको खाकर पचा लिया, उसी प्रकार मैं भी इस महाबली भीमको मारकर खा जाऊँगा और पचा लूँगा'
enaṁ hi vipulaprāṇam adya hatvā vṛkodaram | sambhakṣya jarayiṣyāmi yathāgastyo mahāsuram ||
“Indeed, today I shall kill Bhīma—Vṛkodara of mighty life-force—and, having devoured him, I shall digest him, just as the sage Agastya digested the great demon.” The speaker boasts of violent power and frames cannibalistic intent as a feat comparable to a legendary act, revealing a mind driven by arrogance and adharma rather than restraint or righteous conduct.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how pride and cruelty can masquerade as ‘heroic’ strength by invoking sacred legends; ethically, it warns that violent boasting and dehumanizing an opponent (as food) signals adharma and loss of restraint.
A speaker threatens Bhīma (Vṛkodara), declaring he will kill and devour him, comparing his intended act to the famed episode in which the sage Agastya is said to have digested a great demon.